Kansas City Chiefs

Did Patrick Mahomes ace his performance in Chiefs' OT win over Chargers?

Updated Dec. 17, 2021 4:34 p.m. ET

The Kansas City Chiefs made a statement Thursday night, defeating the Los Angeles Chargers 34-28 via a walk-off overtime touchdown in a pivotal AFC West matchup.

With the victory, the Chiefs improved to 10-4, reaching 10 wins for the seventh straight season, and will enter Week 16 on a seven-game winning streak after boosting an abysmal 3-4 record at the end of October.

Is Patrick Mahomes to thank for the electric comeback?

The two-time defending AFC champion QB threw for a season-high 410 yards and three touchdowns, which came after his second turnover on the night, a costly fourth-quarter INT that led to a 21-13 Chargers edge.

On Friday's "Undisputed," Skip Bayless was skeptical when grading Mahomes' performance, saying the 26-year-old was often "off" last night.

"Not that long ago he was the MVP of this league, and he was the Super Bowl MVP, so I'm going to grade him by a little higher curve," Bayless said. "I will give him a C+ for last night, and I will give him the plus because he did close. … He has lost some confidence, he's lost some swagger, he's definitely lost some accuracy and some faith in the system that used to make him a superstar. … I think he got a huge break last night because Derwin James went out pretty early … that is [the Chargers'] best defensive player."

Skip Bayless grades Patrick Mahomes' performance in thrilling OT win

In an exciting finish last night, Patrick Mahomes outdueled Justin Herbert, leading the Chiefs to a 34-28 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Skip Bayless grades Mahomes' performance.

On the other side, Bayless' co-host Shannon Sharpe gave him an A despite getting off to a slow start.

"Two reasons, fourth quarter and overtime," Sharpe said. "He needed to be great the last nine minutes of this ball game. The last three real drives the Chiefs had he goes five plays, 75 yards, touchdown, two-point conversion … eight plays, 75 yards, touchdown … five plays, 75 yards. He was sensational. He made the throws that he needed to make last night.

"With three games to go, he has 4,052 yards, 30 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and that's an off-year for him?" Sharpe asked jokingly.

Over on "First Things First," Nick Wright was very excited about Mahomes' greatness and echoed Sharpe's thoughts that his performance should be graded on what he did when it counted most.

"For the entirety of NFL history, it was totally irrelevant when grading a quarterback, how they played in quarter one through three if in the fourth quarter they led … three length-of-the-field drives to tie the game, tie the game, win the game. That is how legends are made, and after the bad pick, that's what Mahomes did," Wright said. "Three consecutive 75-yard drives all in under two minutes, all perfect football."

Nick Wright: The Kansas City Chiefs aren't just back, they never actually left

Nick Wright has a message for everyone who said the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes were cooked before their win on Thursday night: The Chiefs are not only back, they never actually left.

Wright's cohost Chris Broussard landed somewhere in the middle as the "voice of reason," grading Mahomes' performance with a B+, pointing out that the Chargers lost nine points by opting not to kick field goals.

"Patrick Mahomes was phenomenal late. … He made some awesome throws. … But the game is 60 minutes long, and he might not have had to pull off those heroics had he been better earlier. The fumble when he got sacked was a bad play. … You don't get A's when you make plays like that. … The throw that he missed to a wide-open Mecole Hardman. … He's arguably the greatest to ever throw the football. You can't do that."

"I gotta throw this in, too," Broussard added. "He got some help. … Brandon Staley helped him out by forgoing nine points and three field goals."

Chris Broussard: Brandon Staley blew it for Chargers in OT loss to Chiefs

Chris Broussard has a question for Brandon Staley and the Los Angeles Chargers: "Since when did three points become something to sneeze at?"

The Chiefs have the best record in the AFC by one game and the best record in their division by two games, are tied with the New England Patriots for the longest active win streak in the NFL, and join the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as one of the just four 10-win teams in the league.

Are Mahomes & Co. bound for another conference title?

Only time will tell if Kansas City will be able to ride this wave to the end.